make-up version of Ai Xia's tragic fate, the actress Ruan Lingyu starred as the main protagonist in "New Women". The protagonist in the story has been abandoned by her oppressive patriarchal family to start an independent life as a writer. She wrote the autobiographical novel "The Tomb of Love." However, it was impossible for her to escape the fate of suicide as in reality, females were mere playthings of male desires and a gimmick in the commercial operation of the publishing industry. The film has caused an uproar due to the violation of the patriarchal society before its release. A rebellious new woman's echo-like record of self-destruction seems to show quite clearly the fragile collusion between women and the society. In addition to the message that the film conveys, the death of Ruan Lingyu after a month of the film's premiere is regarded as a female tragedy under the commercial and star system, which illustrates the tragic impact of the new woman and patriarchal/male culture. It is also a reflection of the conflict between left-wing movies and the right-wing newspapers. Interestingly, this conflict did not damage the reputation of the director of the film, Cai Chusheng, but ultimately sacrificed the reputation and life of actress Ruan Lingyu. The film New Women is now closely linked to the death of Ruan Lingyu, as a symbol of the dangers of mass media and female objectivity in the film industry. Critical Analysis Themes Gender identity and male objectification of females is also an important theme in New Women. Wei is often seen as an object for consumption, not a person by the male characters around her. Wei suffers from losing her job after she rejects the advances of Doctor Wang, who then offers to help her only if she becomes his concubine. The film also shows that Wei’s book, “The Tomb of Love,” was published because the publisher thought he could market the book with an attractive female author. When Wei was forced into prostitution to earn enough money to pay for the deposit of the hospital fee, she was shock that Madam Xu told her to sell her body. However, Madam Xu counters that “but if we women want to make a little money in this world, what other path is open to us?” Motifs Compared to Cai Chusheng’s previous films, New Women, by its title and content, is a film that